Sixty three year old Stephen Edwards, a music composer, was elated to know that his house in Pacific Palisades neighbourhood had survived the deadly, raging blaze that has been wreaking havoc in Los Angeles for over two weeks now.

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The blaze has so far destroyed an estimated 5,000 structures spanning across 23,000 acres. Edwards had already lost one of his houses to the fire. But he was glad that he had a backup; until last week.

The other house, which Edwards mostly used as a rental property, split in two when a landslide caused a neighbouring house to slam into it. Now, the composer is worried about who will pay for the damage to the house—his own insurance or his neighbour’s.

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“It was a cool place to make music, to be super chill and relaxing,” Edwards was quoted as saying by NBC News. “You could look at the water and listen to the waves. It was amazing,” he added.

Landslides; the next monster

After wildfires, the next apparent disaster that may strike homes in the Greater Los Angeles area is landslide only. It’s because wildfires can potentially lead to ground instability.

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Farshid Vahedifard, a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at Tufts University, told NBC News, “The next monster is debris flow and landslides.” Vegetations, plants and trees help keep soil locked in place but fires end up burning the roots, allowing loose soil to move freely.

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“These conditions make the area prone to landslides and debris flows, particularly when you have external triggers like wildfires,” the professor said.

Authorities are now worried the next rainy season in the area could trigger a series of landslides, causing further damage to local infrastructure. California gets most of its rains between October and April.

(With inputs from agencies)